Daily Times

KARACHI: The entire New Sabzi Mandi on Super Highway has been depicting a large filth and marsh site after recent rains as stagnant rainwater and accumulated vegetable and fruit scum in market area has not been lifted, market stakeholders have complained.

The Market Committee has miserably failed in arranging the after rains measures for the removal of filth and the cleaning of inside roads and lanes in the market.

Asif Jukio, Vice Chairman Market Committee has denied to provide any information regarding the removal of garbage and the draining of stagnant rainwater.

The dumping of waste and garbage in surrounding areas and into Lyari River has also posed health hazards and is choking the flow of sewage.

In absence of any scientific mechanism for lifting and disposal of market garbage for the last fourteen years, market place has always been depicting filth and garbage depot.

The Market Committee is presently responsible for management of fruit and vegetable market, which includes provision of civic services including solid waste management in the jurisdiction of Sabzi Market, Super Highway and the residential areas under jurisdiction of Mandi.

Committee is also responsible to manage the garbage to the landfill sites of Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) for final disposal , but Committee has never been responsive to its responsibility since long.

The computerized record of SSWMB weighbridge shows that almost no garbage from the jurisdiction of New Sabzi Market has been brought to SSWMB landfill site for disposal.

This situation raises serious concern as it is an indirect evidence that the garbage, is being un-authorized dumped or either used for illegal land filing by land grabbers or thrown in the water bodies i.e nallahs, rivers or sea side instead of being transported to landfill sites for disposal. In view of the importance and seriousness of the subject matter, this should be taken up on concerted manner.

The initiation for clearing garbage backlog in the market place should be given to any private company on regular basis, market traders have demanded.

Published in Daily Times, July 6^th , 2017.